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Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Guest Post: Author Betty Midnight

Names are one of my favorite parts of writing. It sometimes is agonizing for me as I’ll obsess about a name for days and I’ll even research into names or try to look up meaning of words from my books in different languages that I can turn into names.

But sometimes, it’s fun to be basic… especially in a non-basic setting.

My first series was just launched last week called Hadyn Heat. I’m writing the four book series with a good friend (Ava Michaels) and one of the earliest conversations she and I had were about the names. Lucky me, she told me to pick the names. For those who don’t know Ava, she writes gay/lesbian books and does a heck of a job at it. I always had the idea for Hadyn, a wolf who has matured and can’t control his urges, but it was Ava who suggested to make those urges not just be for females but to also twist in males.

When it came to naming people, I obviously wanted something strong for the lead. I had this image of a beautiful man, in his early twenties. A lean body with muscle that made you just want to touch… and taste. A man who looked like a man but when you saw him – or looked in his eyes – you could still see those hints of wild youth burning off. I needed a name that did it for me and while I can’t explain where it came from, the name Hadyn came to mind. I researched different spellings since it’s a male or female name and when I saw it spelled as ‘Hadyn’, I fell in love.

For the rest of the characters, I decided to go simple. I thought it would be interesting to have these powerful men who are wolves with simple names.

When I designed Hadyn’s roommate, the name Taylor just hit me and stuck. I assure you, it has nothing to do with Twilight (even though Ava picks on me for it each time I talk to her!). When I thought of Taylor as this tall, skinny wolf with paler skin but still the power to fight and his deep love for Hadyn, the name Taylor just worked.

The leader of the pack is Richard. I view the name Richard as a man in his mid-forties, dark hair, strong, and with dark eyes that can control you, seduce you, but make you feel protected. I’ll admit that Richard may have been thought of from Richard from Friends… yes, Tom Selleck. *sigh* My confessions here I guess! But I loved the way the name Richard just smoothed itself into the story.

Now, when I started creating the ‘bad guys’ in the book, I broke away from the normal names. I wanted dark names, scary names, names that people would see and think of as bad people.

The evil Valon just happened. When I thought of evil, the letter ‘V’ stuck out and I worked out a name that fit his personality. His horrible daughter, Sephy, came to life through an image of a skinny, rotted witch and the name finalized the decision for me. When I hear or say “Sephy”, the ‘S’ sticks out and just makes my skin crawl… ugh, I hate that woman! (Hopefully you’ll learn to hate her too.)

Basically I went with a basic name for the good people and the different names for the bad people. The contrast works just as the contrast of characters does. You have these noble wolves who are trying to survive and finding a way to make peace with humans and the world… then you have this evil man and his daughter hoping to attract Hadyn so that they could destroy humans and the world…

In between that, we have a human woman, the catalyst of it all.

I imagined her as an innocent woman, an everyday kind of woman. I did this to show the power of evil and the power of Hadyn’s urges. There really isn’t much special about the woman so I named her an normal name of Sarah. To me she was always Sarah. From the second I wrote the first chapter of Hadyn tracking her womanly scent and I got to the part where I’d have to write her name, it just flowed… Sarah.

Like I said, I often obsess over names, but it only helps to make the story stronger. I’ve never share my naming secrets before, so this is new to me, and you.

There are other names in Hadyn Heat, a mix of norm and not, so you’ll just have to read Book One – The Urge to find out for yourself. When you’re done with the book, be sure to email me with your thoughts on the names and the story – there is nothing better than hearing from a reader! I always reply to emails. Email me at BettyMidnight@gmail.com.

As a man and as a wolf, Hadyn has been trying to control his urges.
After catching the scent of a beautiful woman named Sarah, Hadyn finds her and loses all control of his urges.
The pleasure was great, but the mistake was greater, for an evil man has been lurking for a long time, hoping to take control of the world. After kidnapping Sarah, the destructive man named Valon now can finalize his own plan: to have Hadyn mate with his daughter.
He uses Sarah and her lust for Hadyn to draw him in.
The urges grow worse for Hadyn and it seems nobody can stop him, not even his roommate and secret lover, another male wolf named Taylor.

The fate of Hadyn, Sarah, his pack, and the world are in the balance… but can he control his desperate sexual urges long enough to save it all?

1 comment:

About Me

I'm a mom to 4 children and I escape into a book whenever I can. My hubs thinks I'm crazy because I love my books. I am obsessed about books, movies, music, and twitter. I enjoy reading Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy, Contemporary Romance, and Erotic Romance, as well as Young Adult books. I love my family dearly, but sometimes I don't feel like cooking dinner and my family has to fend for themselves.

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My blog is PG-13, however the material I review and discuss is intended for adults (18 years and older). My reviews are my own opinion and are never malicious toward the books or authors. Please consider this if you choose to read and/or follow my blog. Thanks for stopping by!----------About my reviews: Unless otherwise noted, all books I review are for my own pleasure. I have not received any compensation for the review. I purchased the book with my own money.